When it comes to mining Bitcoin, cutting costs is vital to ensure success. Without the right priced electricity and a good cooling system, a crypto mining firm can quickly go bust – especially given the recent slump in the price of BTC. Crypto mining firms have tried almost everything to keep their rigs cool and cut costs, ranging from building farms in the middle of the Siberian desert to burring mining rigs in a cold-war era bunker. However, one firm from Texas came up with a novel idea to submerge its mining rigs in 3M Novec – an idea that appears to have been picked up by the second largest crypto mining rig manufacturer. Bitfury is now using very a similar technique to keep its mining rigs cooler than the arctic.
Crypto Mining is Hot Business
Unfortunately, mining cryptos produces a large amount of waste heat, and this heat can become rather difficult to extract efficiently. Each ASIC mining chip creates enough heat to warm an averaged size home, so when you stack thousands of these chips in the same warehouse the temperature soon becomes unbearable. Not only is the temperature unbearable for the humans who work at the mining farms, the high temperatures are also bad for the equipment. The heat causes chips to work harder and therefore reduces their life span – extreme heat can also melt parts of the mining rigs. In order to get the most out of each ASIC mining chip, miners have to invest a lot of money into cooling – otherwise they risk losing their mining chips to fatigue.
Power Hungry Process
The combination of running all these ASIC mining chips and cooling systems draws a lot of power and will quickly rack up a sizeable power bill. In order to combat this, many crypto mining firms are setting up in locations with cheap power and sub-arctic temperatures. Often the two go hand in hand – a great bonus for crypto miners. Places like Russia suit the criteria and this is why Russia houses some of the largest crypto mining farms in the world.
Keeping Things Cool
Companies like TMGcore and Bitfury are now submerging their ASIC mining chips into a liquid substance called Novec. It is a product made by 3M and it has an incredible range of uses, from fire suppression systems to water extraction in the desert. The mining rigs are placed into the baths of Novec, which are then heated up by the mining chips causing it to be vaporized and it turns into a gas. This gas is then channeled out of the bath into a giant cooling tower where it is condensed, cooled and pumped back into the baths – making Novec an eco-friendly cooling solution. Novec is so effective and efficient, TMGcore no longer has to run its air conditioning on the mining floor.
Cooling is a key part of the crypto mining process, and without adequate cooling crypto mining rigs would need to be replaced frequently. While it can be costly to cool mining rigs, Bitfury and TMGcore are making giant leaps in the field. The crypto mining industry is heavily criticized for being inefficient and harmful to the environment, but Novec provides a green and clean way to cool crypto mining rigs.
